Federal Jury Convicts Charlotte School Bus Driver, Protester in ICE Confrontation

CMS bus driver Heather Morrow convicted on all counts; William Stanley acquitted of assault charge but convicted of three federal offenses.

A federal jury has convicted a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools bus driver and another protester of interfering with federal officers during a demonstration outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility.

Heather Morrow, 45, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools bus driver and former Mecklenburg County commissioner candidate, was convicted Wednesday on all four charges. William Stanley, 25, a Charlotte college student, was convicted on three charges but acquitted of assaulting or interfering with a federal officer.

Both were found guilty of impeding and disrupting federal employees performing official duties, failing to comply with lawful directions and obstructing an entrance on federal property.

The verdict followed a three-day trial in U.S. District Court in Charlotte.

The charges stemmed from a Nov. 16, 2025, protest outside the ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations office on Tyvola Centre Drive during the federal immigration enforcement operation known as “Operation Charlotte’s Web.”

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina, trial evidence showed Morrow, Stanley and three others placed cones in the entrance driveway and formed a human chain blocking ICE deportation officers from entering the property in government vehicles.

Prosecutors said Morrow also parked her vehicle in an exit lane, preventing vehicles from leaving the federal property.

Evidence showed Stanley later stood in front of an officer’s vehicle and placed his hands on its hood. Prosecutors said Morrow grabbed the officer by the shoulder as he attempted to arrest Stanley, interfering with the arrest.

“You can protest,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Caryn Finley told jurors during closing arguments, according to The Charlotte Observer. “You can’t keep a federal officer from doing their job.”

Defense attorneys disputed portions of the government’s account and pointed to cellphone video and inconsistencies in statements made by federal officers.

Video presented during the trial showed an officer approaching Stanley from behind, using profanity and grabbing him without first telling him he was under arrest. The officer acknowledged during testimony that Stanley could reasonably have initially tried to protect himself if he did not know who was grabbing him.

The defense also challenged an earlier allegation that Morrow had jumped on an officer’s back. The officer testified that she did not. Morrow’s original felony assault charge had previously been dropped.

The jury ultimately convicted Morrow on all counts and Stanley on the three offenses involving the federal property and officers' duties, while finding Stanley not guilty of the assault and interference charge.

Each petty offense carries a potential penalty of up to 30 days in prison or a $5,000 fine. Morrow’s additional misdemeanor charge carries a potential sentence of up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Both remain free on bond, and sentencing dates have not been set.

The FBI investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kenneth Smith and Caryn Finley prosecuted it. Morrow’s attorneys have said they plan to appeal her conviction.

Heather Morrow's federal court records may be accessed here, and William Stanley's here.